Conventionally, network elements, such as routers, switches, bridges, and access points are configured manually by an administrator having specialized technical knowledge associated with the type of network and the topology of the network. Advances in home networking have increased the presence of network elements in environments where users do not have specialized technical knowledge and are uncertain about the best way to configure a network element to provide optimal connectivity for all devices connected to the network.
Also, adoption of wireless technologies has increased the complexity of determining how network elements in a wireless environment should be configured to allow reliable and secure communications. Wireless environments allow greater mobility by freeing users from location restrictions associated with wired networks. In some wireless environments single purpose network elements may operate either as an access point or as a bridge. Other wireless environments may provide dual-purpose network elements that require manual configuration to instruct the network element to operate as a bridge or access point. The manual configuration may require the user to navigate to a web interface to configure the network element or the network element may be provisioned with a physical switch that allows the user to manually switch the network element between operating as a bridge or an access point. Current configuration procedures require significant user involvement and assume that a user understands differences in network topology when the network element operates as a bridge or access point.
For instance, a wireless access point is a network element that allows wireless devices having wireless radios to form a wireless network that permits the devices to utilize wireless connectivity. On the other hand, a bridge forwards traffic from one network to another network. For example, the bridge may forward traffic from a wireless network to a wired network to facilitate communication between wireless devices and wired devices.
Configuring a network element to operate as a bridge or access point may not be intuitive to an average user that does not have the technical prowess to determine the best configuration for the network. The conventional methods require significant user intervention and fail to provide plug-and-play capabilities for the network elements.